Prince William determined to tackle republicanism in Australia

Prince William has flown to Sydney determined to tackle republicanism by
declaring himself as “a friend of Australia”, according to senior royal
sources.

Prince William visits The Redfern Community Centre in SydneyPhoto: EDDIE MULHOLLAND

By Andrew Alderson, in Sydney

12:00PM GMT 19 Jan 2010

His resolve follows a poll of Australians at the weekend which found they wanted Prince William to be their next king and not his father, the Prince of Wales.

The country has a strong republican movement: even moderate politicians predict that the Queen is likely to be the last monarch to “rule” Australia before it becomes a republic.

Prince William, 27, who flew to from New Zealand to Australia today, may face republican demonstrations during his engagements in Sydney and Melbourne.

However one royal aide said: “Prince William is determined to prove himself a friend of Australia and its people.”

On the public stage, the Prince is not expected to address such a controversial issue as republicanism. He will simply try to win over new supporters to the merits of the monarchy and the Commonwealth through his appearances during his three days in the country.

The ITV News poll found that 58 per cent of those interviewed said Prince William should be the next monarch compared with 30 per cent who favoured his father.

He was particularly popular with Australian woman; 63 per cent said they would like to see him succeed the Queen, while 28 per cent preferred the Prince of Wales.

When asked whether the Queen should remain Australia's head of state, 45 per cent voted in favour, with 43 per cent saying no.

However, when asked whether the British monarch should be Australia's head of state if Prince William succeeded the Queen rather than the Prince of Wales, those in favour rose to 51 per cent, with 35 per cent disagreeing.

Australia's republican movement has been growing in recent years, with Kevin Rudd, the prime minister, saying in the past that his country should abandon the British monarch as head of state.

ITV News commissioned Newspoll to conduct the survey and 1,203 Australian adults were questioned over the weekend.

The poll also showed strong support for the Queen, with 56 per cent saying that she should not stand down soon and hand over to a new monarch, compared with 29 per cent who believed she should hand power to a successor.

However, other opinion polls conducted in recent months show nearly 60 per cent of the Australian public people support Australia becoming a republic.

A referendum on cutting ties to the crown was defeated in 1999 - not because of public support for the monarchy but because of apparent confusion over the question, which proposed the Queen and the Governor-General should be replaced by a president appointed by parliament.

The Australian Republican Movement (ARM) has criticised the Prince’s “belated” interest in Australia, noting that the last time he visited the country he was just nine months old.

The group, which wants Australia to remove the Queen as head of state, has called on the Prince to confirm he no objection to the country becoming a republic when he gives a speech to mark Australia Day in Melbourne.